When you publish a Windows / Windows Phone app, you are a publisher. Software publishers are entrepreneurs; you are investing time and sometimes money to create software and get it in front of users. Entrepreneurs are startups – new companies, even if it’s only you as the sole proprietor. And for software startups, Microsoft has BizSpark.

Are you a HTML5 Developer? Are you a Web Developer? Are you just a developer? Come down to the DevCon 5 conference on July 9th and 10th and join in on the fun with other developers and designers, thinkers and creators in breaking though in the mobile world!

Join me and fellow evangelist Jason Walters as we take on the topic of cloud enabling your web application. We will look at Microsoft Azure and its services to deliver solutions to the mobile world. We will also touch on Visual Studio app templates to get you started.

Download Visual Studio Professional 2013 FOR FREE and enter a chance to win an Xbox One Titanfall Edition!

By using Visual Studio Professional 2013, you can deliver quality applications on Windows, Office, Windows Phone, the web, or the cloud. When you combine it with Windows 8.1, you’ll be able to build Windows Store apps. It’s a great way to be prepared for that summer internship, or for your new job after graduation. Best of all, it’s FREE to download as a DreamSpark member.

Go here to learn how you can earn a chance to win 1 of 20 Xbox One Titanfall editions. Act fast – the offer ends June 15th!

Behind every application is a great story – a tale of napkin sketches, late-night coding sessions, technical challenges and inspired solutions. Tell us your best stories and we’ll give you 250,000 AdDuplex advertising impressions and exclusive access to the amazing new App Promotion Customizer tool.*

You’ll also be entered to win one of 15 grand prize packages featuring a free Dell Venue 8 Pro Tablet and one million AdDuplex advertising impressions, plus Microsoft will promote your story.

When Philip Hooker, owner of a consulting company in Farmington CT called Acellan, purchased a new Windows 8 computer he did not know what it would spark.

Philip was a programmer by that was fluent in Java but has a background in design when he attended Kenyon College in Ohio. Philip was interested in the new UI/UX design that the Windows platform championed and decided he would start looking into building apps for Windows.

Hark beleaguered IT Professionals! We know of the evils which plague you daily—mountains of help desk tickets, crashing computers, ridiculous requests from management, and far, far worse. But fear not, for we have felt your misery and despair, and created a fantastical world where you can use your hard-earned knowledge to crush demonic personifications of your IT woes.

Microsoft announced a lot of new updates and features during Day 1 of the //build conference. From new hardware to Windows 8.1 Update 1 to Cortana, there is a lot to be excited about.

The Windows 8.1 Update deliversa collection of refinements designed to give people a more familiar and convenient experience across touch, keyboard and mouse inputs. It also brings improvements for business customers, really accelerates opportunity for developers, and enables device makers to offer lower cost devices.